– Students have the right to know

The current agreement, «Akademia IV», was signed in 2024 and provides an 80 million NOK grant from the fossil fuel company to fund research and education. Equinor’s funds are earmarked for four thematic areas: offshore wind, «CCUS» (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage), general knowledge of the subsoil and AI.

Over time, this relationship has generated a heated debate: is it ethical to accept money from an oil company?

Critical Perspectives

The controversial aspects of this agreement were highlighted as early as 2014 and by 2017, the opposition grew into a student-led movement under the banner «Fossilfritt UiB» (Fossil-Free UiB).

Today, different movements, such as «Scientist Rebellion Bergen» and the UiB Student Parliament, are fighting against the latest 2024 agreement.

– It is a problem of credibility, it means that UiB supports the business idea of Equinor, explains Robert Kordts, professor in the Department of Education and activist with Scientist Rebellion Bergen. 

Kordts further thinks that the agreement undermines all the others activities that UiB is doing. 

– I cannot have, in one room, people arguing that the fossil fuel industry is the big cause of climate change in the world and, in the next room, people who basically are taking money from the same industry.

– Why should  not Equinor finance our university? 

– Equinor wants to influence organizations and institutions that shape young people to manage their reputation. We don't want to be associated with a business model that we know is destroying the world, as part of our workplace, says Kordts.

He says that Norway needs to find alternative ways to think about business and public welfare, rather than knowingly making money by burning the planent. 

– We want to keep our fight progressive and positive. Our motivation is to improve something, and not just be blindly against something, Kordts says, commenting on their campaign. 

– I think it is lack of freedom

Transparency is another issue of this agreement, as Giorgia Zorzi, associate professor at the Western Norway University and activist with Scientific Rebellion, explains:

– There's not much transparency about how the money are actually used, exept the broad macro-areas being specified. A lot of people don’t know about this, and students take courses that are funded by Equinor without knowing, and thus without choosing. I think it is a lack of freedom, she says. 

UiB, indeed, is not the only university that receives these funds. NTNU, NHH, UiO, and UiT, also accept money from the fossil fuel giant.

– One of the main reasons they pour money into geosciences, for instance, is to attract and recruit for future staff and employees, the activist adds.

– Why should we be part of this? 

In a context where universities face shrinking public funding year after year, remaining critical of external financial agreements becomes increasingly difficult. 

– Students have the right to know if their course is funded by this agreement or not, so they can take an informed stance, argues Kaja Sandvik, former leader of the UiB Student Parliament.

– I think it's important to have external actors investing in academia so we can secure funding for research purposes, Sandvik points out.

But she continues:

– We are critical of the agreement and, for the new signing, we strongly want to include a commitment from Equinor to align their industrial operations with the global goals of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.

Indeed, the demand voiced by these groups aims to be constructive: an academic institution free from fossil fuel money, serving as a blueprint for a nation ready to transition away from the fossil industry. 

Answer for UiB

In a mail to Studvest, the UiB Rector, Margareth Hagen, comments on the university’s position regarding this agreement.

– We do not see the collaboration with Equinor as an endorsement of any company’s business strategy. On the contrary, we believe that contributing research, knowledge, and technology is an important way for a university to engage in and support the transition towards more sustainable energy systems.

She says the agreement explicitly safeguards academic freedom. All research conducted under it is free, independent, and without expectations regarding outcomes.

– Our researchers and students remain entirely free to critique both the agreement and Equinor, she adds. 

Hagen explains that regarding transparency, the overall priorities, funding mechanisms, and calls for proposals under the agreement are publicly available. Funding is allocated through open calls within defined thematic areas, and projects are anchored in academic environments at UiB. 

– We continuously work to ensure that information about funded activities is accessible and clear, she concludes. 

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the UiB Student Parliament as a partner in a movement opposing the Akademia Agreement. The organisation is critical of the current agreement but does not oppose the agreement as a whole. Instead, it calls for a new agreement that explicitly requires Equinor to align its transition with the 1.5°C climate target.